A TRANSPORT union has accused London Underground bosses of "dangerously downgrading" fire safety standards.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union said Tube management had scrapped its existing fire inspection programme and abolished the post of specialist fire-safety advisor.

RMT said it had seen an internal email outlining the LUL fire engineer's opposition to the fire safety management.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "It is astonishing that in one breath LUL can tell the London Assembly about the massive problems it experienced in the wake of the July 7 bombings yet with the next insist on changes that even their own fire engineer opposed.

"For all sorts of reasons - not least the security situation - the fire risk on the London Underground has increased significantly, and now is not the time for LUL to weaken fire-safety management or for ministers to abolish minimum fire-safety standards.

"Our safety reps also raised serious concerns about the proposals, yet LUL management have waved them to one side and once more imposed change, despite a promise to postpone implementation to allow for more talks.

"The review that resulted in these changes was seriously flawed. We have discovered that at least one pilot scheme for the new regime never actually took place - a fact that LUL calls a 'minor inaccuracy'.

An LUL spokesman said the Tube had an excellent fire safety record, adding: "The safety of passengers and staff is our top priority.

"The Government's new fire safety regulations proposes a risk assessment-based approach to managing the fire risk, which is what LUL already undertakes.

"We will be happy for Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate to look at our fire safety regulations and we do not believe the fire risk is increasing. In fact, we believe it is decreasing."